UKSF spotted in Libya?

01.06.2011

Video footage of a number of 'armed westerners' operating alongside rebel forces in Libya have surfaced. Press reports have speculated that the small group of men - seen in a video clip shown on Al-Jazeera - may be currently serving or former British Special Forces.

(The footage in question can be seen around the 2:07 mark in the above clip)

Analysts have noted that the team consists of 6 men - 5 armed and an older, unarmed man. This has led to speculation that the older man is a MI6 intelligence officer and the other men are UKSF, possibly acting as the older man's bodyguards. A similarly-composed team of MI6/UKSF operatives was revealed in March - much to the embarrassment of the UK government - when their covert operation in Eastern Libya was compromised after they were arrested by Libyan rebels.

Other media sources have reported that Britain has employed, by proxy, former British military personnel to operate in Libya. Working as private military contractors, hired by a security firm, the former soldiers, including ex-SAS operators, are helping to train anti-Gadaffi forces as well as monitoring the movements of Gadaffi's forces. It may be such men who feature in the footage, which was taken near the city of Misrata.

Since the NATO air campaign against Gaddafi began earlier this year, it has been widely reported that UKSF elements were on the ground in Libya, although this has never been confirmed by official sources.
It is thought that British Special Forces have carried out reconnaissance operations, identifying targets for NATO warplanes.